More on why we drive the way we do
this might be apocryphal, but I heard it was from the design of Conestoga wagons, which were the first to include a brake- and the lever to control the brake was on the left side (since most of us are right handed, and would hold the reins in our right hand) the brake could be controlled with the ‘free hand'
(american roads being, at the time, much rougher than old world roads, and more steeply graded--so a brake was needed)
the brake lever extended a few inches past the axle, and on narrow roads, two way traffic could crash into each others brakes. So it became the habit to drive a wagon so that left sides of the vehicle would pass each other, and the driver could make sure not to hit the brake lever.
Though Conestoga wagons are associate with taming the west– Conestoga is a town in upstate NY that first made the heavy duty wagons with brakes, and they were very popular all over. and lead to us driving as we do...
